scotthilk
Well-Known Member
Great album!
Needles & Grooves AotM///Vol. 32 February 2022/// The Faint - Wet From Birth
- Thread starter scotthilk
- Start date
avecigrec
Well-Known Member
There's the E!!!
scotthilk
Well-Known Member
Hey, y'all! It's announcement day! This announcement comes a few days earlier than originally anticipated because I've never been able to keep a good secret (see: all the hints!).
I am extremely excited to announce that the February 2022 Album of the Month is:
The Faint - Wet From Birth (2004)
Congrats to @Jan for guessing the correct album first! A free copy of this album has your name on it. More on that later...
I suppose now's the time I am supposed to explain why I picked this record. I'll give it a shot - here we go!
I first heard this album in 2004 when I was a junior in High School. I'm not entirely sure how I discovered the band, but I am guessing I found them on what.cd (if you know, you know). High school was a transitional time for my musical tastes. I grew up with a non-musical family (my grandma played ukulele!). My parents listened to The B-52's, Jimmy Buffett, The Doors and Jim Croce. I was not overly exposed to music growing up aside from what was playing in my parent's car, or what was in the 6-CD changer in our house in Mexico. Usually, it was a soundtrack of some sort. Anyways! In 2000, I got into punk rock (NOFX, Rancid, Warped Tour bands). In 2001, I got into Weezer. In 2002, I started smoking weed and got into Sublime/Bob Marley/Pink Floyd/Beatles. This is when I picked up the bass guitar which has been my first love ever since. This would eventually lead me to a career in music, a degree in it, and change my life forever. From 2003 on, I was playing in bands and my musical horizon was ever expanding. There was a whole new world of music to be discovered, and I LOVED IT. Around this time, I really started getting into bands like The Strokes, Hot Hot Heat, The White Stripes, Arcade Fire, Muse, Franz Ferdinand, RHCP, etc. The pulsating and driving drum beats mixed with difference forms of dance styles spoke to me.
Enter The Faint.
I'm pretty sure the first Faint album I listened to was Blank Wave Arcade and Danse Macabre. My memories from then are good, but jumbled. I remember listening to "Casual Sex" thinking the synthesizer sequence 3/4 way through was the greatest thing I'd ever heard. I remember my friend Travis taking ecstasy on prom night, and it kicked in during the octave-synth-pulse of "Glass Danse". The music was fun, upbeat, unique - and unlike other styles I had listened to. There were dark overtones. There were sexual overtones. It was an interesting singing style. The lyrics were.. weird. But, I felt the music. I was the world’s biggest stoner in high school, and I liked nothing more than getting blitzed and throwing these albums on 11.
I also can't remember the first time I heard Wet From Birth, but I assume it was around the release date. The album floored me.
"There's violins in this shit?"
"What the hell is making that sound? Is that a guitar or a synth"
"What the fuck is he singing about here? An erection?"
"Holy shit, how do I replicate that bass fuzz?"
"This is a great dance party album"
"I'm so high right now, and this music is perfect"
"If I tell my friends about this band, are they going to think I am crazy or love it?"
This album pushes all of the right musical buttons for me. I feel like I am doing it a disservice by trying to articulate in words why I love it. I imagine everyone has albums they love JUST BECAUSE. Ever listen to an album and feel like it's made for you? I've felt like that for awhile with this one.
I no longer smoke weed (or do anything, 13+ years) but this album still transforms me into a euphoric place when I listen to it. I feel like I'm in a dark nightclub (pre-COVID, of course) where everyone is just feeling it. No worries in the world. Dancing their fucking asses off. Dancing with each other. Sweating. Making out. Whatever. The band is on stage, just rockin' out and vibing off the crowd. I'm at this concert when I listen to Wet From Birth.
If you've made it this far, you're probably/hopefully intrigued by the album. I'd like you to listen to it. Here's my suggestions for how to listen to it.
1) You should listen to this album when you're in an energetic mood. If you're about to go to sleep, I'd pass on it and revisit.
2) You should play this loud. Volume doesn't have to be 11, but it should be 9+.
3) If you indulge, you should listen to this album super stoned. I'm not advocating, necessarily, but it's how I first heard it. If you don't, no worries!
4) Try to listen to this with the lights down low, or in a more ambient atmosphere. Try to join me in the club I described above.
Thank you, @Needles & Grooves for giving me the opportunity to share this album with you. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
Now - some extra fun and exciting stuff.
Todd Fink, lead singer of The Faint, has graciously agreed to do a Q&A with Needles & Grooves. I do not know exactly what this will look like yet, but I am working on details. I am unsure if it will be typed, recorded, or via ZOOM. I am very excited for this, and super grateful to him for being interested in doing this. There will be a separate thread regarding this sometime in the coming days/week.
Saddle Creek Records has created a special coupon code for N&G members to purchase this album on their website for 20% off. Just type in "NEEDLES" at checkout, and voila!
As always, I'm sure I forgot a million things and thus this is perhaps a starting point for the announcement and fun to come. Thank you for reading.. now go rock out to this!
xoxo,
Scott
P.S. I will dissect the hints in my next post. There might be a few giveaways.
I am extremely excited to announce that the February 2022 Album of the Month is:
The Faint - Wet From Birth (2004)
Congrats to @Jan for guessing the correct album first! A free copy of this album has your name on it. More on that later...
I suppose now's the time I am supposed to explain why I picked this record. I'll give it a shot - here we go!
I first heard this album in 2004 when I was a junior in High School. I'm not entirely sure how I discovered the band, but I am guessing I found them on what.cd (if you know, you know). High school was a transitional time for my musical tastes. I grew up with a non-musical family (my grandma played ukulele!). My parents listened to The B-52's, Jimmy Buffett, The Doors and Jim Croce. I was not overly exposed to music growing up aside from what was playing in my parent's car, or what was in the 6-CD changer in our house in Mexico. Usually, it was a soundtrack of some sort. Anyways! In 2000, I got into punk rock (NOFX, Rancid, Warped Tour bands). In 2001, I got into Weezer. In 2002, I started smoking weed and got into Sublime/Bob Marley/Pink Floyd/Beatles. This is when I picked up the bass guitar which has been my first love ever since. This would eventually lead me to a career in music, a degree in it, and change my life forever. From 2003 on, I was playing in bands and my musical horizon was ever expanding. There was a whole new world of music to be discovered, and I LOVED IT. Around this time, I really started getting into bands like The Strokes, Hot Hot Heat, The White Stripes, Arcade Fire, Muse, Franz Ferdinand, RHCP, etc. The pulsating and driving drum beats mixed with difference forms of dance styles spoke to me.
Enter The Faint.
I'm pretty sure the first Faint album I listened to was Blank Wave Arcade and Danse Macabre. My memories from then are good, but jumbled. I remember listening to "Casual Sex" thinking the synthesizer sequence 3/4 way through was the greatest thing I'd ever heard. I remember my friend Travis taking ecstasy on prom night, and it kicked in during the octave-synth-pulse of "Glass Danse". The music was fun, upbeat, unique - and unlike other styles I had listened to. There were dark overtones. There were sexual overtones. It was an interesting singing style. The lyrics were.. weird. But, I felt the music. I was the world’s biggest stoner in high school, and I liked nothing more than getting blitzed and throwing these albums on 11.
I also can't remember the first time I heard Wet From Birth, but I assume it was around the release date. The album floored me.
"There's violins in this shit?"
"What the hell is making that sound? Is that a guitar or a synth"
"What the fuck is he singing about here? An erection?"
"Holy shit, how do I replicate that bass fuzz?"
"This is a great dance party album"
"I'm so high right now, and this music is perfect"
"If I tell my friends about this band, are they going to think I am crazy or love it?"
This album pushes all of the right musical buttons for me. I feel like I am doing it a disservice by trying to articulate in words why I love it. I imagine everyone has albums they love JUST BECAUSE. Ever listen to an album and feel like it's made for you? I've felt like that for awhile with this one.
I no longer smoke weed (or do anything, 13+ years) but this album still transforms me into a euphoric place when I listen to it. I feel like I'm in a dark nightclub (pre-COVID, of course) where everyone is just feeling it. No worries in the world. Dancing their fucking asses off. Dancing with each other. Sweating. Making out. Whatever. The band is on stage, just rockin' out and vibing off the crowd. I'm at this concert when I listen to Wet From Birth.
If you've made it this far, you're probably/hopefully intrigued by the album. I'd like you to listen to it. Here's my suggestions for how to listen to it.
1) You should listen to this album when you're in an energetic mood. If you're about to go to sleep, I'd pass on it and revisit.
2) You should play this loud. Volume doesn't have to be 11, but it should be 9+.
3) If you indulge, you should listen to this album super stoned. I'm not advocating, necessarily, but it's how I first heard it. If you don't, no worries!
4) Try to listen to this with the lights down low, or in a more ambient atmosphere. Try to join me in the club I described above.
Thank you, @Needles & Grooves for giving me the opportunity to share this album with you. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
Now - some extra fun and exciting stuff.
Todd Fink, lead singer of The Faint, has graciously agreed to do a Q&A with Needles & Grooves. I do not know exactly what this will look like yet, but I am working on details. I am unsure if it will be typed, recorded, or via ZOOM. I am very excited for this, and super grateful to him for being interested in doing this. There will be a separate thread regarding this sometime in the coming days/week.
Saddle Creek Records has created a special coupon code for N&G members to purchase this album on their website for 20% off. Just type in "NEEDLES" at checkout, and voila!
As always, I'm sure I forgot a million things and thus this is perhaps a starting point for the announcement and fun to come. Thank you for reading.. now go rock out to this!
xoxo,
Scott
P.S. I will dissect the hints in my next post. There might be a few giveaways.
Last edited:
scotthilk
Well-Known Member
Clue #1: Chinese zociac sign. Nice work, @BazookaTooth - released in 2004
Difficulty: Easy
Clue #2:
www.espn.com
Great work, @cul8er - you opened this thread up with your discovery
Difficulty: Hard
Clue #3: Lead member = Lead Singer, Group = Band. Just didn't wana make it too easy for y'all incase it was a rap group or something.
Clue #4: This acted as the "key" to the puzzle. I figured you would try it out sooner. Props to @mgp for finally putting the code in!
Difficulty: Medium
Clue #5: Not reggae! Sorry again, @BazookaTooth . I had a lot of good options but they didn't make the cut. More will be posted in the "Didn't Make The Cut" thread.
Clue #6: Lot of stuff here. I put 4 words - starting to spell "SADDLE" - but here, just "SADD" as a starting hint. Title of the puzzle had "Incomplete" in it so you may extrapolate that it wasn't finished. Puzzle was saved as "4" which was # of words, and ended up working out to be # of members in band AND the band's 4th album. This was purely coincidental. Great work to you (and your daughter) on the word search, @mgp
Difficulty: Hard
Clue #7: Mostly just fucking with y'all
Clue #8: Hinting towards the spelling of "SADDLE" in the "Albums That Didn't Make The Cut" thread. Several were on this clue, including @avecigrec first
Difficulty: Medium
Clue #9: If @DevonJD would have been here, he would have hopefully told you that I had messaged him before this thread started asking for his Discogs and told him we had similar tastes. I did this because he was one of the only other people on the site to ever post about The Faint, based on search history.
Difficulty: Medium
Clue #10: NAS was born on September 14; this album was released on September 14.
Difficulty: Easy
Clue #11: The violin solo at the beginning of "Desperate Guys" is the introduction to Niccolò Paganini's Caprice No. 5. Nice one, @Hemotep
Difficulty: Easy
Difficulty: Easy
Clue #2:
'Omaha! Omaha!' How Peyton Manning changed quarterbacking forever
As the innovator of controlling the game at the line of scrimmage, Manning left a legacy that lives on through QBs at all levels.
Great work, @cul8er - you opened this thread up with your discovery
Difficulty: Hard
Clue #3: Lead member = Lead Singer, Group = Band. Just didn't wana make it too easy for y'all incase it was a rap group or something.
Clue #4: This acted as the "key" to the puzzle. I figured you would try it out sooner. Props to @mgp for finally putting the code in!
Difficulty: Medium
Clue #5: Not reggae! Sorry again, @BazookaTooth . I had a lot of good options but they didn't make the cut. More will be posted in the "Didn't Make The Cut" thread.
Clue #6: Lot of stuff here. I put 4 words - starting to spell "SADDLE" - but here, just "SADD" as a starting hint. Title of the puzzle had "Incomplete" in it so you may extrapolate that it wasn't finished. Puzzle was saved as "4" which was # of words, and ended up working out to be # of members in band AND the band's 4th album. This was purely coincidental. Great work to you (and your daughter) on the word search, @mgp
Difficulty: Hard
Clue #7: Mostly just fucking with y'all
Clue #8: Hinting towards the spelling of "SADDLE" in the "Albums That Didn't Make The Cut" thread. Several were on this clue, including @avecigrec first
Difficulty: Medium
Clue #9: If @DevonJD would have been here, he would have hopefully told you that I had messaged him before this thread started asking for his Discogs and told him we had similar tastes. I did this because he was one of the only other people on the site to ever post about The Faint, based on search history.
Difficulty: Medium
Clue #10: NAS was born on September 14; this album was released on September 14.
Difficulty: Easy
Clue #11: The violin solo at the beginning of "Desperate Guys" is the introduction to Niccolò Paganini's Caprice No. 5. Nice one, @Hemotep
Difficulty: Easy
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scotthilk
Well-Known Member
Prizes: A few people in this thread did a stand-up job with clues, participation, etc. The following members will receive a free copy of the album from me. Please send me your deets:
@Jan - First correct guess!
@cul8er - Got the OMAHA clue
@mgp - Crossword hero, coupon code confirmation
@avecigrec - High quality sleuthing and guesses based on multiple hints
@Jan - First correct guess!
@cul8er - Got the OMAHA clue
@mgp - Crossword hero, coupon code confirmation
@avecigrec - High quality sleuthing and guesses based on multiple hints
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avecigrec
Well-Known Member
Way to go @Jan!
This was so much aggrivating fun! Thanks @scotthilk - I'm really looking forward to checking this album out, and a couple of the other ones I guessed along the way! And I super appreciate the bonus prize, Scott - your generosity is a beautiful and contagious!
Thanks and congrats to @mgp and @cul8er too. It was a blast puzzling through it with y'all.
Hemotep
Well-Known Member
I came in the thread too late, but your clues and the challenge were awesome @scotthilk, very fun. Also very cool that you got the coupon and q&a! You've single handedly made a better record club by yourself than Rough Trade could manage. With a band we've actually heard of too!
Saw them play in Denver probably around the time this came out. It'll bring back some memories and will be the first month I've ordered the album!
Saw them play in Denver probably around the time this came out. It'll bring back some memories and will be the first month I've ordered the album!
cul8er
Well-Known Member
@scotthilk You are too generous! Thank you for the fun thread.Prizes: A few people in this thread did a stand-up job with clues, participation, etc. The following members will receive a free copy of the album from me. Please send me your deets:
@Jan - First correct guess!
@cul8er - Got the OMAHA clue
@mgp - Crossword hero, coupon code confirmation
@avecigrec - High quality sleuthing and guesses based on multiple hints
There may be more prizes later!
scotthilk
Well-Known Member
I can probably get you one another way if you really want it
Nee Lewman
बैस्टर्ड
I ordered a record
scotthilk
Well-Known Member
Awesome!!!!!!
duke86fan
Well-Known Member
scotthilk
Well-Known Member
Awesome!!!!
DevonJD
Well-Known Member
The faint is a top 3 band for me. I love all their albums. I’ve seen em a bunch of times and they are always fantastic.
www.instagram.com
Wet from birth is my fave album front to back from them.
Todd has a project with his wife Orenda Fink (of azure ray) called Closeness that is worth checking out as well. It’s more goth less dance
Thanks @scotthilk for making me a clue even though I’m clueless, but its brought more attention to one of my fave albums/bands of all time, so all is right in the world.
Thanks for coming to my Ted talk
Devon Dyra on Instagram: "The Conductor #thefaint"
10 likes, 1 comments - devonjd on May 22, 2019: "The Conductor #thefaint".
www.instagram.com
Wet from birth is my fave album front to back from them.
Todd has a project with his wife Orenda Fink (of azure ray) called Closeness that is worth checking out as well. It’s more goth less dance
Thanks @scotthilk for making me a clue even though I’m clueless, but its brought more attention to one of my fave albums/bands of all time, so all is right in the world.
Thanks for coming to my Ted talk
sarcasticfairyprincess
Well-Known Member
I suck and forgot to check this thread because I've been working a lot of overtime before school starts back and I'm big mad because I grew up a HUGE Manning fan and I missed the Omaha clue. Smh that's the one that had my name on it. Super excited for this pick though, can't wait to give it a listen.